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Friday, July 29, 2011

cabbages and roses

Phew, I've had a busy week! Today has been (somewhat) free, so I decided to treat myself to a new project. I sooooo don't need a new project, but this stack of Cabbages and Roses fabric for Moda has been calling my name. (It's due to release in September, I believe.) I couldn't fall asleep last night because I was thinking of all the possibilities.

This morning I set up my tripod, took a quick photo and then cracked it open. Part of me really hates to open such a pretty stack of fabric! It's just so perfect when it's all intact. But as you will see, apparently I managed. :)

After much deliberating on a pattern, I decided to make large half square triangles. I cut 9" squares from the fat quarter and then made huge half square triangle blocks. The 9" square is dandy, because there is virtually NO waste from side to side (since a FQ is 18" x 22"), just a few strips of extra fabric and then the selvages at the end. I LOVE to maximize my fabric like that!

I also tried a super smart tip that I got from Tara earlier in the week. She told me that when she cut out her strips for the quilt along blocks, she cut them in pairs, right sides facing each other. Then, when it comes time to sew, the pairs are already lined up, no rearranging necessary. I tried that technique with these triangles and it worked like a charm. Thank you, Tara!

I started with the blues and greens.

Then I moved on to the pinks. They are my favorites! But really, all of these fabrics are just. so. sweet.

I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the colors separated, or perhaps put them all together? I'm going to have to do some playing around before I decide for sure. Either way, I know it will be pretty!

63 comments:

Super lovely! I like the colors separated, it looks more effective, whereas the mixed almost looks unbalanced. But anywho, don't listen to me!I do want to thank you a million times over for introducing me to Connecting Threads thread-I bought some from your recommendation and HOLY MOLY! I love it!!! It feels great, it looks great, it was really, really inexpensive...THANK YOU!!!

I've been drooling over these since we saw it in the catalog at work when we were trying to pick collections to order! It's SOOOO pretty and I love what you've done. I find it so difficult to break open FQ bundles so bravo! hehe

Love, love, LOVE those fabrics! Might have to make some room in my budget to buy them. Simply beautiful. I love them sewn together in the triangles, but triangles scare me to be quite honest. Maybe I'll get up the nerve to try them again soon though, cause I love what you are doing with them!

Oh, I know what you mean about not being able to "unwrap" the stack of FQ's. I bought a bundle of fabrics from Keepsake not too long ago and they sat "on display" for quite a while before I even opened them!!Gorgeous, gorgeous fabrics. Maybe DH will buy me some for our anniversary (to go with my new sewing machine, hint, hint!!)

What a great way to maximize the pieces you can get out of fat quarters! I also love Tara's tip - so clever, why didn't I think of doing that. Such a pretty stack of fabrics you have there. I'm happy to see you're using them. Also love seeing the HST all mixed up. Such a fun project to be working on!

Hello Amanda-jean,I have been reading your blog for about one year and I LOVE it! I have never commented b4 but after your post on the 21st I have to say I need to comment! I am so sorry for all those negative people and I hope that you know they are the minority. There are so many of us who just love and appreciate all the effort you put into this wonderful blog. You succeed in sharing tips, inspiration and just being you . Please do not let the negativity bring you down-you are FABULOUS!!!!

I shy away from triangles and yet you jump right in with them. I have to get over my fear of the bias, lol. Thanks for the tips you and Tara shared. I can't wait to see which route(s) you go with your HSTs. I have been giddily sewing up combos for my 36 block QAL. I am SO delighted with how they are coming out and really proud of myself for sticking within the bounds of my stash.

Thanks for blogging!! Many of us out here appreciate it (a LOT) and may not always remember to comment and tell you. It's so inspiring to see what everyone else is doing. Keep up the good work.Jennifer

I LOVE those fabrics! I had no idea what to do with them, I just WANTED them! :) Thanks for the ideas! Again!Candiceps: I went to Connecting Threads and bought all the sets of thread when they were on sale since that is one thing I am sadly lacking - not anymore! I'm so excited! Thank you for the heads up!

Cute fabric, and love your triangles! Maybe I should send you the fabric I have that I can't make anything out of because it's too cute for me to use. You have a lot more courage than I do! :) Have a great weekend!

I feel like I should frequent your blog less. Not because I don't like you, but because every time that I visit, I come away with a new project idea! My beautiful stack of Tula Pink Parisville is currently waiting for my attention, and I think I could use this to do huge pinwheel blocks. Thanks Amanda!

PS--This would be a great tutorial size for beginners doing HST for the first time (aka--ME)!

Oh my gosh! I remember seeing that company and their fabrics through two home decor books I picked up a few years ago and I fell in love with their style. I had no idea they had a fabric line they sold in the US! Thanks for sharing!

I have the hardest time taking the twill tape off stacks of gorgeous fabric too! I consider them excellent decorations in my sewing room! However...these are beautiful and the HSTs was a genius idea. Wow, I love those stripes. Oh, and BTW, 36-patch quiltalong is turning out to be the best therapy for me. For one reason, I'm really loving the way the blocks come together. And for the second reason, I think about you the whole time I'm sewing. Thanks for everything, Friend!